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Striper Advice for a Beginner

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benarsenault

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Hey guys,

I'm a freshwater bass fisherman living in NYC who wants to get into saltwater fishing. I'll be in Amagansett, Long Island for a few days over the 4th of July weekend and a buddy is letting me borrow some of his striper gear. He says that stripers behave in similar ways to LM & SM bass: they relate to cover and ambush points, they will face into moving water when feeding, they can be found in the shallows, they are usually active around sunrise and sunset, they can be caught with a reaction presentation, etc. I'll be fishing from shore, although I might rent a kayak if I'm feeling adventurous and want to fish in some of the bays on the north shore. My buddy is letting me borrow some plugs that mimic injured / fleeing baitfish and he said I should try to make a big commotion and work the baits quickly for a reaction bite. 

The above is everything I know about striper fishing, which as you can tell is basically nothing. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love to hear it. 

Also, I'm worried I might accidentally catch a toothy monster or a stingray and get myself into a situation where I'm not sure how to properly handle the fish to remove the hook for a safe catch and release. Is there anything I need to worry about?

Lastly, what's your go-to knot for tying braid to a flouro leader? I was thinking double-uni, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks guys!

 

-Ben

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Hey guys,[/size]I'm a freshwater bass fisherman living in NYC who wants to get into saltwater fishing. I'll be in Amagansett, Long Island for a few days over the 4th of July weekend and a buddy is letting me borrow some of his striper gear. He says that stripers behave in similar ways to LM & SM bass: they relate to cover and ambush points, they will face into moving water when feeding, they can be found in the shallows, they are usually active around sunrise and sunset, they can be caught with a reaction presentation, etc. I'll be fishing from shore, although I might rent a kayak if I'm feeling adventurous and want to fish in some of the bays on the north shore. My buddy is letting me borrow some plugs that mimic injured / fleeing baitfish and he said I should try to make a big commotion and work the baits quickly for a reaction bite. [/size]The above is everything I know about striper fishing, which as you can tell is basically nothing. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love to hear it. [/size]Also, I'm worried I might accidentally catch a toothy monster or a stingray and get myself into a situation where I'm not sure how to properly handle the fish to remove the hook for a safe catch and release. Is there anything I need to worry about?[/size]Lastly, what's your go-to knot for tying braid to a flouro leader? I was thinking double-uni, but I'm open to suggestions.[/size]Thanks guys![/size]

 

-Ben[/size]

So here are two setups, one for beach or surf fishing, one for kayak.

 

Surf - Penn SSV6500 or 6500BLS and a St. Croix Triumph 10' or Penn Battalion 10' with 30-40lb braid or 20lb mono.

Kayak - Penn SSV5500 or SSV6500 combo or even a similar size Battle Combo. Both are relatively affordable for the quality you get.

 

If the fish isn't bleeding and is in good condition, pull it back and forth to get water circulating in its gills until it is trying to pump away on its own. John Skinners videos have good examples of that.

 

Alex

If you can dream it, I can meme it.

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I use the surgeons knot often to join leader to braid, google it there are videos etc its a great knot to join to different materials together.

 

Another knot that is useful is the Rapala knot to tie jig heads and plugs to the leader, but it stays as a loop to help with a more natural presentation.

 

If you use bait , use fish finder rigs with circle hooks, learn how to use a circle hook (again google it but in brief you dont "set it" you let it naturally seat itself in the fish mouth by lowering the rod and reeling slowly after a few seconds) 

 

Finally bring a towel if you catch a large ray, use a wet towel to hold the ray by its tail and flip it upside down, worked for me when I used to baitfish in NC.

 

It takes years to figure out Striper, for a one off weekend deal, fish the morning and evenings, look for structure at low tide, fish those spots later, and good luck.

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fish are stupid.  listen to about 25% of what you read online... 

-Hey dumbass it's not about a kill or no kill tournament, it's about how much your 2nd favorite club can mug you! That's it...

-the reports thread is the yenta section for NJ..  

-If’n ya cut yer teeth on Ava and teaser fishing please take a seat in the back and keep quite… 

-is monkey see monkey do fishing even fun..?? 
-yes I still fish with mono..  On occasion 

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Ben

 

If you are messing around for the weekend you'll cover more water, be more mobile and stink less if you fish plugs instead of bait.  Just my humble opinion.

Search here for "Basic Plugs Beginner ".

A few guidelines from my experience:
1. You may want to buy a few plugs even if your buddy is loaning you a few. You should use the right ones for the conditions.  Not knowing exacly your conditions, you should probably have

a] Super Strike Little Neck Popper....White, yellow, or white with blue. Dawn and dusk and daytime...CAN work at night if swim very slowly and no popping.

b] A needlefish or two- super strike are good...maybe one smaller and one larger.  White always good.  Some say dark no moon=black..lighter night = white.  No firm rules.  fish needlefish SLOWLY--wicked SLOW...when you feel hitting bottom... raise rod tip and slightly speed up retrieve so you don't get hung up.

c] A swimmer or two.  Super Strike Little Neck Swimmer good basic choice.

d] anyplace with decent to high current- get a darter or two...again Super Strike very good...white, black or yellow.

e] bucktails with pork rind strip or curly tail grub...but this is a whole thing in and of itself...

f] Minnow type] def get a couple Daiwa SaltPro- they are less than ten bucks, cast very well and catch fish like nuts.  Blurple (blackish purple) good...chicken scratch good for dawn and dusk.
 

 

It's hard to go wrong for a beginner with the SuperStrike products...plastic, consistent, relatively inexpensive, and they work- used by pros every night.

2. Find a food tackle shop in area...not the fanciest one...buy some plugs and stuff...explain your situation and ask for advice.  See if you can suss out a good spot for mid-high tide and a good spot for low-mid tide.  Check how wind plays into these locations.  The wrong wind may make a certain location great or worthless.  If you are at a good shop with good guys and are buying $100 or more of stuff- they should be giving you some good practical advice..not just brushing you off with generalities.  Esp. since you are on vacation and won't be back with your buddies to capitalize on the knowledge fro the next five years.  Maybe go the the New York regional forum here and ask guys what tackle shops they would recommend in the area and the specific guys to talk with.  You can even open up a phone dialog with them in advance and have some time to check things out on Google Earth.  (always a great resource, right?)

3 This time of year...if you are serious about stripers, you will need to fish at night!!! Yes,sunrise and sunset are good, but night time is where you want to be. Your chances will be many, many times higher at night...especially for larger fish.  This means you need to concentrate on a couple of areas... say a certain beach front, and maybe a causeway, jetty or backbay area... and scope them out during day. Even if you know fishing a certain spot is going to be best at mid to high tide.... go there at low tide and make note of all salient features... rocks... holes.... depressions.... anything that will indicate places where bait will hold or where currents will get set up. Also wade the area during the day on the tide you intend to fish. You're prepping for being there in pitch dark... you'll be glad you did. Make sure you wear a good belt around your waders to prevent wader fill up if you go in accidentally... or go shorts and sandals.  Helps to have a buddy..or at least let someone know where you are and when you plan to check in.  Bring cell phone in a ziplok bag.  Alone at night in current and surf in an unknown rocky location in pitch dark is not ideal safety-wise.

4. Leaders... at the business end, Tactical Anglers (or Breakaway ) clips...prob 175 pound for beach front... 24" to 48" mono leader... 40 pound to 60 pound...then at the end closest to rod put a high quality black barrel swivel. Improved clinch knots for both mono connections. Guys use palomar for connecting braid to swivel- I just use improved clinch.  The TAC clips are awesome once you get used to them.  Make a few leaders up before hand and put each one individually into a small ziplok.  Don't jam them all together; you'll never get it right at night and they'll jam together and fall in the water.  Maybe if you make some shorter/lighter...say 30" with 40 pound- for back bays...they go in the left pocket.  If you make some heavier for beachfront or jetties- say 48" with 60 pound, they go in the right pocket.

 

5.  Generally nighttime = SLOW retrieves...get down in the water column...but avoid getting hung up.  Again a low-tide scouting trip will let you know where the hazards are...make a mental or paper diagram so you have it later.  Take bearings...Ex:  The big house with blue shutters lines up with the telephone pole in the parking lot...and looking the other way....the big rock with all the seaweed lines up with the mansion on the next point.  Then at high tide you know you are standing in front of that great hole.  Helps if bearing markers have lights so you can see them at night.  Houses wont' be lit up after midnight so sometimes this is tough.

 

6.  if you possibly can, read Zeno Hromin The Art of Surfcasting With Lures.  This will teach you five thousand times anything most of us could relate in a post.  Amazon overnight if you have to and read on the plane.  HIGHLY recommended.

 

7.  You may not have time to do both plug fishing and eel fishing...because it's a whole different thing to learn, but fishing eels at night...sLLLOOOOWWWWLLY on the bottom or near the bottom =- large stripers.  There are numerous articles online from various sources.  google Striped Bass Eels Night or something like that.  If you go this route, it's simpler than messing with a bunch of plugs you might not know how to work.  You'll get less small fish but have MUCH greater chance at large fish.  Almost same leader setup except instead of TAC clip at end, snell or improved-clinch-know a7/0 or 8/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook.  Hook thru mouth and out eye socket.  Keep eels on ice.  Again, google all this.  The specific details count.  YouTubes that are very good are John Skinner-Eels, and Bill Wetzel-Eels.  John Skinner in particular does a lot of very good videos on fishing various lures and concentrates his fishing in the Long Island area.  good resource; the guys a wizard.  Use green kitchen scrubbie pads to handle the eels.  Keep them in a cheap mesh laundry-type bag that you loop around your belt.  give them a dunk in the salt water every once in a while.  2 or 3 should be sufficient for an evenings fishing for you.

 

8.  Keep in mind that surf-fishing for stripers is a bit like trout fishing in that it's pretty easy to figure out 80-90% of the right things to do but that last 10-20% is so critical and so difficult to learn...take it from me.   It takes thousands of hours fishing to get THERE- so don't feel bad if you don't do so well on your first trip.

 

9. Adjust your drag properly.  And make sure it's working smoothly on the reel you are given.  If the reel is not well-maintained and rinsed with fresh water after every trip- it's likely that the drag will be at least partially locked up or frozen.  Keep track of the order of the drag washers as you take it apart...it matters!!  If it's not running smoothly, take it all apart. Clean everything with WD40, then clean off the WD40, regrease it lightly, and put it back together.  For plugs you want a medium set drag.  You want some give.  Dave Andserson says he sets drag so a good fish can take line off drag with his rod at 10:00 position but he can stop the fish with rod up at 12:00 position.  For eels, you want a MUCH tighter drag because you really need to SET the hook HARD and repeatedly.  If the line on the reel sucks or is old mono- you should consider taking it to the tackle shop and getting new braid put on.  They will be able to recommend a good product.  Good favor for thanking your friend for loaning you his gear too...

 

10.  Get all your gear as set and ready as possible during day...When you are out there in the dark is no time to be trying to figure things out or trying to find something. 

 

11.  Other misc stuff: 

a]  You need a decent head lamp.  these can be had pretty cheap at WalMart, the tackle hops or pretty much everywhere.  Try not to shine a light around other guys at night.  It's a big no-no.  It helps if the headlamp has low-speed and/or, red lens. 

b]  You need a pliers.  Different kinds but anything you can grip a hook with will do.  Helps to have it in some kind of sheath or holster on your belt.  a lanyard stops it from disappearing in the water.

c] Basic knife is good to have

d]  Big nail clippers are good for mono but not really for braid.  Some of the more expensive pliers have teeth that cut braid.  Otherwise a small scissors on a string around your neck will do.

e] You have waders? If they are bootfoot, you wont be very comfortable walking long distances or jumping around rocks.  if you have stocking foot with separate boots, better...but boots can fill with sand.  Sounds inconsequential- but it's debilitating- the sand packs in so hard that you cannot move your toes anymore.  If you have gravel guards it helps but I have found that duct-taping all around the top and bottom of the gravel guards pretty much eliminates this problem.  yeah- you do it every time you gear up.  You need cleats or Korkers if you are going to be around rocks especially if there's seaweed or slime on the rocks.  If you have felt-sole boots from fishing freshwater- these are good.  go to hardware store, get 20 stainless steel hex head sheet metal screws...#10 is good x roughly 1/2"...screw ten into the bottom of each sole with a nut driver.  Cheap Korkers!  The felt plus cleats is a great combo btw.

f]  Sharpen hooks!  Especially on used stuff; your buddy's plugs.  The point should "catch" on your thumbnail when dragged lightly across.  If it does not , sharpen it.  Get a $7 hook file from the tackle shop and have them show you how to use it.  Most new hooks, including Gamakatsu (for the eels), will not need sharpening (but some other brands do!).  Having lures hit the bottom and hit rocks means the hooks are getting dull so check them before the next trip.

 

12.  Rinse EVERYTHING well with fresh water after every trip...all the plugs, hooks, rods, reels, knife, pliers...everything...and let it air/sun dry before putting it away. Saltwater is incredibly corrosive and will kill almost anything in time.

 

13.  Practice catch and release.

 

Good luck!  tight lines!

Edited by blackdogfish

The Great Big Jig in the Sky...Shine on you crazy diamond jig.

rsz_2aa17withhook.jpg

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Thanks guys! The advice is greatly appreciated so please keep it coming. Thanks for the knot tips, and yeah, I definitely don't want to mess with live bait. When I fish for freshwater bass I only use artificial baits, so I'm comfortable with plugs (except the ones I use are usually smaller). My friend let me borrow 4 jerkbaits of various sizes, one topwater walk-the-dog / pencil plug, a couple bucktail jigs, a spoon, and a bunch of soft plastic fluke style baits in various weights and sizes. With these baits I can cover the entire water column and I can fish fast and slow presentations, so I think I have my bases covered.

 

My buddy recommended night fishing too but I forgot my dang head lamp. I'm at work now and heading straight to Amagansett after work so I won't have time to go home and grab it. At least I remembered my small LED flashlight, so maybe I can just tape it to the visor of my hat, haha.

 

Are you guys using swivels to reduce line twisting? Does it matter much if I don't use one? I'll just have more memory in my line, right?

 

If anyone has any ideas about what the stripers are feeding on right now, I'd love to know so I can try to mimic their natural forage.

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I was in the same boat as you maybe 4 years ago. I read up on a lot of stuff as all advice can never hurt. Don't go crazy with gear but just put in your time and enjoy the sport of fishing. Lots of great info from this site alone. Good luck

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For skates, blues, sea robins, dogfish, etc., keep those pliers handy...a good grip on the hook and some well angled shakes should get anything beastly off the hook, if you don't want to touch it, or it is too spiny to do so.  A pair of fish lip grippers can be handy too for critters that never stop flailing.

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Should you land a bluefish, take great care in unhooking them.  You won't see the teeth, but they are there and they snap their jaws all the while they are thrashing on the sand.  Give it a few seconds to settle down a bit and then pin the body down with one hand and use the other with long nose pliers to free the hook.  A lure with multiple treble hooks whipping around on a peed off blue is a dangerous thing.

Edited by clambellies
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Should you land a bluefish, take great care in unhooking them.  You won't see the teeth, but they are there and they snap their jaws all the while they are thrashing on the sand.  Give it a few seconds to settle down a bit and then pin the body down with one hand and use the other with long nose pliers to free the hook.  A lure with multiple treble hooks whipping around on a peed off blue is a dangerous thing.

PLUS 1 ON THAT!

Brings up a good point too, that multiple treble hooks are always a sort-of dangerous thing.  They can get multiple-hooked on a fish and it's really tough to get them off.

If you are holding a striper in a lip-grip with your thumb and fingers...hold on hard and be firm with the pliers or your hand gripping the plug or hook.  Don't "get scared" and loosen your grip if they head-shake...because that's when the plug will get loose from your hand slightly and the shaking combined with the fish beginning to fall, will impale those hooks into your hand.  Now you're hooked to a thrashing fish...never a good thing.  Be firm..hold steady..use pliers to hold the hook if you have any hesitation about using your hand to grapple with the hook and plug.

 

If you get bluefish consistently and you want to continue to fish, sometimes good to switch to a bluefish plug like Roberts Ranger or something with a single hook- much easier and safer to unhook the suckers.

 

One last point- a lot of guys crush down the barbs of all hooks...esp trebles...with pliers  Easier to unhook fish and a WHOLE LOT more better if a hook penetrates your hand.  It's rather messy to unhook yourself if the hook has barb.  Not too bad if the barb is crushed.  if you maintain a tight line and get a good hook penetration into the mouth, this should not reduce the percentage of landed fish very much.  I think what happens is a lot of guys may think this is a decent idea..but then after they have to take a hook out of their hand, they know it's a decent idea.

Edited by blackdogfish

The Great Big Jig in the Sky...Shine on you crazy diamond jig.

rsz_2aa17withhook.jpg

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Go get em Ben....  break my gear on a big fish

 

dont worry about the forgotten headlamp... your eyes will adjust and you will only need it to tie knots

 

 

Kerry

Haha, the only rods I've ever broken have been due to clumsiness, but I'll be careful with yours!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IiVyLIzrjM

 

Thanks guys, and big ups to Kerry / mightyrime for the striper lesson and gear bestowal. I'll post a picture if I catch anything. Even if it's a runt, I'm gonna be really excited to catch my first striper!

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